Every April since 2008, music fans have celebrated independent record stores, with the aptly titled ‘Record Store Day’. Although the initiative was born in the US, there are now Record Store Days organized all over the world. Exclusive releases, new tracks, or special editions of colored vinyl… It’s the best day of the year to spend all your savings on numerous records and support your local store! Festivities also include performances, meet and greets with artists, parades, DJs spinning records, and on and on. The event is coming back this weekend, on Saturday the 22nd of April, and we bet that our journalists from all over Europe will be hanging in their favorite shop. And so we asked them for some recommendations! Take a trip around Barcelona, Amsterdam, Berlin, Bologna, Paris, Brussels, Riga, Lisbon, Zagreb and Dublin.
Marcos Molinero, Barcelona
Revólver Records
Record Store Day is a music party, and it is in record shops that the celebration is the most special. On Carrer Dels Tallers 11, famous for its dozens of record shops decades ago, is Revólver Records one of the few music lovers’ strongholds that survive in these hard times of music downloads, streaming and gentrification. Those of us who grew up musically within those walls enjoy our day there with friends, rummaging through vinyls for the best goodies on offer. This year the party is completed with an acoustic set and record signing by The Deathlines at 4pm. Big day!
Record Store Day Europe
Dan Cole, Amsterdam
Rush Hour
It’s hard to leave this place without putting a huge hole in my pockets. The obscure international records, coupled with the balearic, new wave, and disco oddities, make for a crate digger’s dream. If you want to stand out as a DJ and own something that no-one else has, then Rush Hour is unchallenged in this regard, making the main reason to visit Amsterdam more important than ever!
Record Store Day Europe
Thaddeus Herrmann, Berlin
Hardwax
It might be an obvious choice. The equation “Berlin + Techno = Hardwax” has been a given for many ever since the store opened in 1989, and for good reason! Founded by Mark Ernestus (Basic Channel, Maurizio, Rhythm & Sound etc.), the crew have followed a radical approach since day one, offering a meticulously curated selection of records, importing stock directly, and making groundbreaking electronic dance music from Detroit available in Germany for the first time. As important as what is on sale in the store is what is not: the bland, the mediocre, the bad, the ugly face of dance. Later this year, Hardwax will have to close down its current location, due to property speculation. Let’s hope that the crew will find a new spot. Because at Hardwax, every day is Record Store Day – whether for techno, house, electronica, drum and bass, disco, hip-hop or reggae.
Record Store Day Europe
Susanna La Polla De Giovanni, Bologna
Disco D’oro
Since 1976, Disco D’Oro in Bologna has been a true paradise for underground music lovers. During the Eighties and part of the Nineties, goths and punks were the main customers of this record shop, where they could find obscure or rare records and eventually recruit bandmates. Disco D’Oro, now with a profile also on Discogs, is a place of its own, always up-to-date with the latest record releases, ranging from house music to Italian songwriting, all displayed in the colourful window out to the street, where to have a glimpse of the next big things and easily discover the coolest artists of the planet.
Record Store Day Europe
Noémie Lecoq, Paris
Pop Culture Shop
Why this store instead of another ? Pop Culture Shop is surely not the biggest nor hippest record store of Paris, but I simply feel good when I go there. I discovered it when I was working in the Bastille neighborhood, and often had lunch in this street. It’s difficult to describe why the atmosphere of a place really clicks with me, but it’s probably due to the impeccable selection of vinyls, new or second hand, and the fact that the shop also sells comics and pop culture figurines (hence the name).
Aline Glaudot, Brussels
Crevettes Records and Sono Ventura
Brussels isn’t a huge city, but has an enormous amount of indie record stores. If you want to see what it truly has to offer you absolutely have to get lost in the atypical neighborhood of “Les Marolles“. It went from being a very popular “Brusseleir” neighborhood, to one of the trendiest areas, full of high quality thrift shops and record stores. There is a store every 20 meters, and all genres are represented! Get curious, because almost every second-hand store also has an impressive vinyl collection. For example, for house, techno, DnB, go visit the wonderful Crevette Records and Sono Ventura, which you simply cannot miss.
Normunds Vucans, Riga
Randoms
Randoms is not only the oldest and biggest record store in Latvia, it’s also a cultural icon. While many shops have come and gone, Randoms has been the go-to place in Riga not only for music, but also for official band merch and lots of fun and (in the best way possible) weird apparel since the 90s. Their website states that “maybe your mom visited us after school in 1997 to buy some cassettes“, and it’s very true – I myself know quite a few people who have been their customers for at least two generations already!
Gonçalo Castro, Lisbon
Louie Louie
It’s hard to choose my favourite record shop, because I really enjoy strolling around places like Clube 33, Chasing Rabbits or Tubitek, but the shop I go to most is Louie Louie. It’s owned by Jorge, a former musician, and Hugo, a former DJ, and it’s always great to go there and look through vinyl, CDs, tapes, and more. They have a selection of both old and new, and you can sit and listen to some records, and talk for a while, in the heart of Lisbon.
Ilko Culic, Zagreb
PDV Records x Merchandise
Owned by Croatian indie label PDV, and located on the first floor above Pločnik bar & club, Međimurska Street 21, is PDV Records. It’s a relatively small but carefully crafted vinyl shop with 2000+ titles in stock. It’s also best in town for old school and new school punk, with a fine selection of rock, metal, reggae, electronica, jazz and world music, plus DJ equipment and a lot of merchandise. And there’s a vintage jukebox that plays rare 45’s.
The entire PDV catalogue is available for mail order on pdv.com.hr
James Hendicott, Dublin
Spindizzy Records
Located in one of Europe’s oldest indoor markets, the gorgeous George’s Street Arcade, Spindizzy Records is one of those little gems of a record store, a place with limited space but loads and loads of imaginative records to explore. Both new and second hand, you’ll uncover the hits, but also a range of hidden gems that, while reasonably priced, have a tendency to sap your wallet in a hurry. There’s also a firm nod to an Irish music scene that is currently absolutely thriving: get your Fontaines DC and your Nealo, your M(h)aol and your Aoife Nessa Frances, right here.
